Improvement in machines for cutting off horseshoe-nails



Manse onl annstrnnnaonsson, an, or owneo, new YonK.

IMPRQVEM NTINMACH INES FQR curt-Ins oFsHoRsssHoE-sAus.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,480, dated May 30,1 871.

MAMW

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLEs FRED. J OHN soN, Jr, of Owego, in the countyof. Tioga and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Cutting-off Apparatus of Horse-Nail Machinesyand dohereby declare that the following is a full,

I clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference be n g had to theaccompanying drawing making a part of this specification, in whichFigure 1 is a perspective view of a machine containing my improvements,and Fig. 2is a plan view of the same.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

In the class of machines to which my improvement is most peculiarlyapplicable the nails are forged continuously and automatic ally on theend of a rod. The rod is heated in a fire of gas or other suitable.combustible, revolved so as to lie atlernately on itsside and on itsedge, and the heated end which projects from the furnace moved laterallyfrom one die to another, and alternately struck by nail, but before thehammers can strike another blow a knife or ,cutter passes over the diesduring that periodwhen one hammer is up and theother is rising and therod is being moved laterally. This cutter pressesthe nail against astationary cutter on the side of the anvil, and thus shears it from theend of the p rod,.the motion of thecutter being so timed that it passesunder the hammers between two blows, cuts off the nail, and avoids beinghit itself. Myinvention relates simply to the movement of this cutter,and therefore the mechanism which works the. hammers and moves the rodis not represented in the drawing.

In the machines to which I refer the cutter 1s secured to or upon ahorizontal disk, which revolves upon a vertical axis and is moved in acircle through the medium of a pawl striking against the teeth of acircular ratchet onthe under side of said disk, so that it is necessaryto make said ratchet entirely uniform in size,

and that each should represent a sufficient revolution of said disk tocause the cutter to pass entirely across the two dies cutting es thenail. This necessitates making the disk very large and widening thewhole machine; Again, it is necessary to hold the disk by means offriction so as to prevent it from driving beyond the stroke of the pawl,as from their force the blows of the pawl would destroy the teeth of theratchet in a few days unless the machine .was run at a low speed. Toremedy these defects is the object of my invention, which consists,principally, in the combination of a stationary cutter, a rotatingcutter, and mechanism for giving to the latter a variable velocity, soas to cause it to approach and recede from the anvil at a comparativelyslow speed,and to cross said anvil rapidly, substantially as and for thepurpose herein after specified. It also consists in the construction andcombination of the several devices employed for producing such motion ofthe cutter substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

In the annexed drawing, A represents an anvil or die, resting upon andsecured to a suitable block, B, which in turn is secured to or upon thebed-plate G of themachine. A

furnace, I), having the usual form,is placed within or uponsuitablesupports E and F, immediately adjoining the die, and furnishes ameans whereby-the nail'rod may be heated as it is passed inward upon orover said die. Pivoted within a frame composed of two uprights, G, and ahorizontal cross-piece, H, is a-short vertical shaft, 73, having securedto or upon its upper end a circular metal disk, I, which disk isprovidedaround its edge with suitable worm-teeth, that engage with acorresponding screw-thread, it, formed upona shaft, K, that it ispivoted horizontally within the uprights G, by means of which, when saidshaft is caused to revolve, a relatively slow Pivoted rotary motion isgiven to said disk. on the face of the disk I, near its periphery, isone end of an arm, L, which, from thence extending across the saiddisk,'has its outer or free end confined within certain limits in radialposition by means of two'studs, Z, which project vertically upward fromsaid disk upon ,Y each side of said arm. A cutter, M, is secured to theouter end of the arm, and extends outward from the same to a sufficientlength to cause its forward or cutting end to sweep across the die andjust graze a corresponding fixed cutter, N, secured upon a blockimmediately adjoining the latter.

As thus constructed, the disk is caused to revolve with such speed aswill bring the movable cutter in position near the nail-rod at theprecise instant that a nail has been completed, so as to remove the samefrom said rod; but as said cutter is obliged to move rapidly across thedie in order to avoid contact with the hammer or upper die, the rapidstrokes of which are not suspended, the fol lowing-described means areemployed for accelerating its speed.

A shaft, 0, is journaled within suitable bearings attached to thebed-plate, in a line with the nail-rod, and provided with anupward-projecting arm, P, the upper end of which is connected by meansof a pivoted rod, Q, with a sliding block, R, that rests within suitableways attached to or upon the inner face of the anvil-block, the wholebeing so arranged as that a semi-rotary movement in opposite directionsimparted to said shaft will cause a corresponding reciprocating motionof said sliding or carrier block. A spring, S, is socured at one end toor upon the upper face of said carrier-block, and, extendinglongitudinall y forward over the same, is provided with an ofiset, s,which, when the cutter is in the necessary position, strikes against thesame upon a forward movement of the carrier-block and moves said cutterrapidly across the face of the die. The carrier has sufficient motiononly to move the cutter across the face of the die, so that said cutteris not effected by the continuous reciprocating movement of the formeruntilit has reached the precise position intended, and by pressingdownward and passing over the spring comes into engagement with itsoii'set or shoulder, upon which the forward stroke of said carrierdrives said cutter across the anvil, and separates the finished nailfrom its bar by pressing the same against the fixed or stationarycutter. The cutter now remains stationary upon the left side of theanvil, until, by the forward movement of the 4 disk, the stud Z strikesagainst and moves forward the pivoted arm, whereupon said cutter anddisk revolve together until the former is again brought within reach ofthe carrier, during which time another nail will have been completed andready for cutting from its bar.

The nail-rod should be fed sidewise against the fixed cutter so as tobring the finished nail in the desired position for removal immedi atelybefore the operating cutter is moved across the anvil, to accomplishwhich result a vertical shaft, T, provided at its upper end and near itslower end with two radially-projecting arms, t and t, respectively, isjournaled within suitable bearings upon the frame in such a position asto bring the upper arm t within reach of a stud, U, that projectshorizontally outward from the rear end of the pivoted lever L, and bythe forward motion of said stud cause said arm to be carried rearwardfor a short distance so as to give to the shaft T a semi rotarymovement, and through suitable mechanism actuate the feeding devices.

The advantages of my improvements are that the cutter is struck but onceduring the formation of a nail, and, being comparatively light and.entirely unrestricted in its move ments across the anvil, but littlewear is caused to either said cutter or the carrier by such blow.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, whatI claim as new 1. As an improvement in machines for making nails forhorseshoes, the combination of astationary cutter, a rotating cutter,and mechanism for giving to the latter a variable velocity so as tocause it to approach and recede from the anvil at a comparatively slowspeed, and to cross said anvil rapidly, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

2. The revolving disk I, the pivoted arm L, the pin I, the anvil A, thereciprocating carrier R provided with the spring S, and the cutters Mand N, when combined with each other and with suitable actuatingmechanism for operating the same, substantially as and for the purposeshown.

I CHARLES FRED. JOHNSOX, JR.

Witnesses:

J. O. PUMPELLY, A. M. JOHNSON.

